To complain against noise pollution, residents can contact the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board on 080-25589113 or call the police on 100. They can also call 080-22942222 for obtaining numbers of the jurisdictional police.

A few weeks ago, the city police busted a party on top of the Jewels de Paragon building near Cubbon Park after they received calls from neighbours complaining of high noise levels.

Loud music blasting out of the building disturbed neighbours in the vicinity around 10 p.m. who in turn called the cops, who stopped the party. Such complaints are not unusual in the city.

Meera Dev, a resident of New Thippasandra, has to regularly put up with blaring music in her neighbourhood due to late night parties. “The parties start late at night and go up to at least 3 a.m. Since a large crowd gathers at these parties, the roads are choked with cars. The sound levels have been so high that my neighbour even complained to policemen on night patrol. However, they still continue to happen. As these roads are narrow, there is a lot of honking as well when the party-goers try to take out their cars after the party,” she said.

The police say that complete disregard and disrespect towards others leads to such instances. “If one house in an apartment complex decides to throw a party, they cannot disregard the fact that other occupants of the building may be disturbed. Beyond 10 p.m., any noise which is above permissible limits can be fined,” an officer said.

The menace of loudspeakers, including at public functions and autorickshaw announcements, add to a considerable amount of noise pollution. While the police say that loudspeakers at places of worship could not be restricted, they say that for all public announcements through loudspeakers, permission need to be sought.

“If the person concerned has not taken prior permission before using such loudspeakers, the police can seize the equipment for excessive noise,” said a senior police official.

To curb noise pollution, several notices had been served on bars for playing music in open spaces beyond 10 p.m. Though the highest contributor of noise pollution in the city are vehicles, loudspeakers and public nuisance complaints too are received by the police. However, most of these are not official written complaints but merely calls complaining of high decibel levels in the area.

Additional Commissioner of Police (Law and Oder) Kamal Pant said they rarely receive written complaints as it is usually information received through phone calls. However, when they do receive official complaints, they are booked under the Karnataka Police Act which has a minimal fee. The troubled citizens can approach the jurisdictional police to file a complaint, he added.